Shredded Dreams, Forgotten Life
by capercailiechild
Summary: When Kerry's brother does something unforgivable, Kerry is given the biggest challenge yet - his daughter.
1. Default Chapter

The phone rang in the Cook County General ER.Of course, this was an everyday occurrence, so no one paid much attention to it.Randi picked it up. "Hello?"

"Hello, is this Cook County General Hospital?"  
"Yes."

"May I speak with Dr. Kerry Weaver, please?"

"Can I ask who is calling?"

"My name is Russell Davies, and I am the Police Chief in San Sausalito, Montana.It is of the utmost importance that I speak to her."

"Okay, I'll see if I can find her."

Kerry came marching into the desk area. "Dr. Weaver, there's a man on the phone.He says his name is Russell Davies, Chief of Police in San Sausalito, Montana," Randi recited obediently.

"Where?" Kerry asked, setting down a chart.

"San Sausalito, Montana."

"I don't know anyone who lives in San Sausalito, Montana."

"Well, he wants to talk to you."

"Okay, okay, I'll talk to him." Kerry picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"Is this Dr. Kerry Weaver, from Chicago?"  
"Yes.Who is this?"

"My name is Russell Davies, and I am the Chief of Police in San Sausalito, Montana."

"I don't know anyone who lives in San Sausalito, Montana."

"Really?Because I've got a record here that says your brother, Tom, wife, Heather, and their children, Clarissa, David, and Eliza, live here."

"Oh, them."

"Kerry, what is it?" Mark Greene looked up from his charts.

"My sister-in-law has been murdered by my brother, who killed himself, and his youngest daughter has nowhere to go."

"Excuse me?" Mark asked.

"Heather Weaver, 38, beaten to death by Thomas Weaver, 40.Clarissa and David are 16, and Eliza is 11.My aunt Juanita has asked for Clarey and Davy, but she doesn't want Eliza."

"Why not?"

"She feels that Eliza would be too much work."

"How are the children?"

"They're being examined at the San Sausalito Hospital as we speak.All three appear to be abused and traumatized."

"Why are you…"

"Because I need permission to take three days off of work to get Eliza, and settle her in, and make sure that she goes to therapy, and stuff like that."

"Granted," Mark said.

"What?"

"Granted," Mark repeated. "Don't argue, Kerry.Just go."

Clarissa and David, the last time she'd seen them, had been beautiful children.They both had beautiful blond hair, Clarissa's combed into ringlets, David's in a bowl cut, like the Beatles' hair. They wore similar outfits so the world would know they were twins.Eliza had been the black sheep of the family, inheriting not only her father's reddish hair but his green eyes as well.She was also the wild child, always roaming the farm, playing in the woods, and riding on the horses.

Times had changed.Clarey and Davy sat side by side on the bench in the emergency room.Clarey's ringlets had been straightened into a more attractive style, and Davy's Beatles cut was gone.Replacing it were several spikes of blond hair. 

Eliza was red-headed as usual.She slept on the bench next to Clarey.There were dark circles under her eyes and a bruise on her cheek.She looked… vulnerable.

"Aunt Kerry," Clarey said, standing up. "Thank you for coming.We're so sorry that Aunt Juanita won't take Eliza."

Davy stood, too.Boy, was he tall. "Hi," he said in a deep voice, and shook her hand. "This is a terrible thing."

Kerry nodded and hugged him.

"Thanks," Clarey repeated, and hugged Kerry. "And this is our Lizer."

"What time did you get here?" Kerry asked.

"About five-thirty," Clarey answered. "The police got the call at five, and came right out.Lizer's been given something to make her sleep."

"She didn't… she didn't see it, did she?"

"No." Clarey pursed her lips solemnly.

Kerry looked down at the child who was soon to become _hers_.What was she going to do?


	2. Eliza's Promise

             _Where was I?  What was happening?_

             Eliza rolled over and fell off the bed with a _thunk_.  It was two days after she and Aunt Kerry had come home, and in that time, she had gotten less than an hour of sleep.

             Home.  No, it wasn't home.  Home was in Montana with the horses, not in this steel-and-glass apartment building.  This was… a shelter.  A temporary shelter.  Home was in Montana.

             Peering out the window, Eliza watched the rain fall. _Two days, seven hours, twenty-one minutes, and fourteen seconds since Aunt Kerry kidnapped me_.  That was what she kept telling herself.  Kerry had kidnapped her and she would be home as soon as her mom and dad came to rescue her.

             Some of her Aunt Kerry's friends were coming to dinner that night.  They had a girl Eliza's age.  Eliza didn't care.  She didn't want to make any friends.  Friends would only be someone else to say goodbye to when she went home.

             "Come in, come in!" Kerry invited. "I'm just finishing the table."

             Eliza peered out of her room to see the girl she was supposed to be friends with.  Aunt Kerry's friends were Abby and Luka.  Luka, the man, was carrying a boy who looked to be about eleven. "Hi, Daniel!" Kerry greeted him.

             The boy said something Eliza didn't hear.

             Next in line was another boy, this one younger. "And Jacob, you've gotten so big!"

             "Hi!" Jacob said enthusiastically.

             Two girls stood behind their brother. "Maggie and Olivia, what kind of trouble are you getting into?"

             "Not much," the taller one said.  The younger one said nothing.

             _Maggie_.  So that was her name.

             "Eliza!  Please come out here and meet our guests!" Kerry called.

             "Hi," Eliza said.

             The girl regarded her with stony dark eyes.  Her mother, however, was more pleasant. "So you're Eliza.  Nice to meet you.  I'm Abby."

             "Hi," Eliza repeated.  She was feeling like a "Chatty Cathy" doll.

             "Eliza, here, put this on the table," Kerry said, and handed her a basket of rolls.

             Eliza did so.

             "How old are you, Eliza?" the man asked in an accented voice.

             "Twelve," Eliza answered. "Almost thirteen."

             "Cool," said the younger boy. "Maggie's thirteen."

             "Neat," Eliza said, but her voice held no emotion.

             Somehow she got through dinner.  Somehow she endured their chit-chat conversations, their endless discussions about subjects that wouldn't matter in twenty years anyway.  Eliza was tired of it.

             She wanted to leave, wanted to go home, wanted to go anywhere that wasn't here.  But there was no way.  She was just one girl, and there was no way she could go anywhere.  She didn't even know where Clarey and Davy were.  If she could find them, everything would be okay.

             Outside the window, more rain sleeted down on the apartment building.  _Two days, seventeen hours, thirty-six minutes, and twelve seconds_.  Eliza pressed her fingers against the window, as though by just touch, she could somehow go home, back to Montana, where she belonged. _I'll never give into this, I'll never give in.  It's not my home and I don't belong here._

             Kerry found her the next morning, curled up underneath her bed, fast asleep.


End file.
